Peters takes helm of Bulldogs track & field program

The 2019 Plainview Bulldogs track & field team is set to open the season with first-year head coach Cameron Peters at the Raider Nation Relays on Saturday in Amarillo.

The 2019 Plainview Bulldogs track & field team is set to open the season with first-year head coach Cameron Peters at the Raider Nation Relays on Saturday in Amarillo.

Photo: Alexis Cubit/Plainview Herald

Photo: Alexis Cubit/Plainview Herald

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The 2019 Plainview Bulldogs track & field team is set to open the season with first-year head coach Cameron Peters at the Raider Nation Relays on Saturday in Amarillo.

The 2019 Plainview Bulldogs track & field team is set to open the season with first-year head coach Cameron Peters at the Raider Nation Relays on Saturday in Amarillo.

Photo: Alexis Cubit/Plainview Herald

Peters takes helm of Bulldogs track & field program

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PLAINVIEW – The Plainview Bulldogs track & field team is something like a puzzle that first-year head coach Cameron Peters must put together this year.

Peters is hoping that the final picture includes a trip to the regional meet. Last year, Bulldogs senior long-distance runner Sergio Lara placed 11th in both the mile and two-mile races.

“It’s in God’s hands, but hopefully we can get back to that spot,” he said. “I want to say we can win district. I want to do all that, but right now, we’re worried about getting this first meet.”

The Bulldogs start the season at the Raider National Relays on Saturday in Amarillo. Because of the weather, the Bulldogs haven’t been able to practice as much as they’d like, so the season-opening meet will be a good warmup for the season and indicator of where the team’s strengths and weaknesses lie.

“All of our kids are going to compete the hardest, so I think when we get to this meet … they’re going to be ready to compete,” said Peters, who was the pole vault coach last year.

Peters decided to take the head coaching job this season because of the timing. He’ll keep his role coaching the pole vaulters as well as the relay teams.

“Anytime as a coach, you can step into a head coach position, that’s a good way to not only build yourself as a coach but also build your resume with that,” Peters said. “I really think it’s going to help me build myself as a coach and an all-around man.”

The Bulldogs have the talent to be competitive on the track, using the team’s speed from the returning athletes to power its relay teams.

“Especially our football guys, we’re going to put them in our relays,” Peters added. “We’ve got a couple kids that don’t do any sports but they come out and you can tell they’re really fast. We’re going to place them in some relays and some sprints.”

Even with the strong relays, the Bulldogs will likely see a good portion of its points coming from the field events. The placement of each athlete will in each event will be strategically decided to help put the Bulldogs in the best position to score points.

“We’ve got a couple kids that can jump really high and hopefully when they come to compete, we’re going to put them in a spot like high jump, long jump and triple jump and they’re going to get us a lot of field-event points,” Peter said. “This year, what we’re going to do with is strategically place them in events that are going to build us points and really build confidence in our young men.”

While the team doesn’t have official captains yet, the Bulldogs have had some of its more experienced athletes step up and lead the team, which includes Brandon Rivas, Javier Batres and Peyton McNutt.

“All the team really looks up to them,” Peters said.

After Saturday’s season-opening meet, the Bulldogs compete in a two-day meet at Canyon next week before hosting a meet on March 8. From there, the team will have two more competitions before heading to the district meet. Peters has confidence that his team will continue to progress each and every time it competes.

“We have a lot of younger kids coming in so they’ve never really been in a high school track meet, so we’ve got to get their feet under them,” he said. “Once they get their feet under them, I think we can still compete and place.”